1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a shuffling and dealing device, and more particularly to an automatic shuffling and dealing machine that is convenient for card games.
2. Description of Related Art
Card shufflers have been known for a long time, e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 6,889,979 discloses a card shuffler comprises a drivable shuffling storage means, an input apparatus and an output storage means. The shuffling storage means has multiple compartments to receive and hold cards and is associated with the input apparatus for inserting cards into the compartments. The output storage means is separated from the shuffling storage means for the shuffled card. With the drive of the shuffling storage means and the input apparatus and the output storage means being controlled by an electronic control system, the cards discharging from the shuffling wheel will be in a random sequence. Therefore, the cards are completely shuffled.
Accordingly, the input apparatus has a draw-in zone with a height corresponding substantially to the thickness of a card. Such an arrangement guarantees that only one card at a time is conveyed to the shuffling storage means. However, since most modern playing cards are made of plastic, shuffling the playing cards may generate static electricity and make the playing cards stuck together. Additionally, the cards in the card shuffler are conveyed mostly in a straight manner. Consequently, the cards may easily coincide with or block to each other when conveying and eventually cause the card shuffler to breakdown.
Moreover, most components of the conventional card shufflers are driven by pulleys and toothed belts. Because the pulleys and the toothed belts stretch over time, gaps are inevitably formed between the pulleys and the toothed belts or elastic extension of the toothed belt, which cause the movement of the card shuffler to be less precise.
To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention provides an automatic shuffling and dealing machine to obviate or mitigate the aforementioned problems.